The Christian Life

             Welcome back everyone! I hope that each of you had a safe and enjoyable 4^th of July holiday. I made a trip about an hour and a half south of my home to the underrated city of Chattanooga. My girlfriend and I strolled the downtown area, rode in a historic steam locomotive, and ate some of the best steak I’ve ever had. I wasn’t ready for the weekend to end, but it’s time to get back at it!

              I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the essence of the Christian life. You’ve met Jesus and pledged to live your life in service to Him – now what? For the vast majority of us, the answer to this question invokes images of Bible studies, mission trips, quiet time with God, and maybe even a few good works every now and then.

              There’s nothing wrong with any of these things. In fact, they are all wonderful and beneficial in cultivating an intimate relationship with the Creator. However, I feel that the essence of the Christian life runs much deeper than a superficial to-do list.

The essence of the Christian life can be summarized as follows:

1.       Trial

2.       Transformation

3.       Trust

4.       Triumph

Each successive element necessarily flows from the previous one – i.e. transformation flows from trials and trust flows from transformation. Let’s take a quick look at how each of these elements relates to one another within the context of the Christian life.

It’s a fairly widespread belief nowadays to feel that all of your troubles will disappear the moment Christ becomes the center of your life. This is a flat-out heresy and clearly unsubstantiated by Scripture. The New Testament (and Old for that matter) is full of examples of those who suffered in the name of Christ Jesus. Paul was imprisoned, Peter was killed, and Stephen became the first martyr of the faith when he was stoned to death. Like these heroes of the faith, our Christian walk will necessarily be filled with countless trials.  With Christ at the center of our lives, we are equipped with the weaponry necessary to tackle even the most daunting of trials.

       I hold to the belief that a Christian is saved over time rather than at a single point of conversion.  You may disagree with me, but that is a topic for another time. I’ve often quoted this verse, but it’s worth typing out one more time. Matthew 24: 12-13 reads as follows: “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” Attacking and overcoming the many obstacles we invariably will face over the course of our lives (with Christ’s help, of course!) produces the perseverance that ultimately leads to Salvation.

       Persevering through our trials leads to transformation – transformation of the way in which relate to God and those around us. Our own difficulties in life open our eyes to the omnipotent goodness of God and creates sensitivities to the challenges that those around us may be facing. As Mark 12: 29-31 exhorts: “The most important one answered Jesus, is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Transformation is an often-overlooked aspect of the Christian journey. Ignoring the transformational aspect of the faith leads to a decidedly antinomian view of Salvation. Unequivocally, faith in Christ is a gift from above. The Grace we receive from this faith is unable to be earned in any way and is only made possible by Christ’s ultimate sacrifice on Calvary. This free gift of Grace works in us through the intervention of the Holy Spirit to produce transformation in our lives and give us the ability to love God and love our neighbor.

Despite our Lord and Savior’s command to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves, there is just one problem. The problem is that we are born sinful. Sin entered the world in Genesis 3 and remains with us to this day. Simply following Christ does not exempt us from the sinful nature that impacts every aspect of our lives. God is all too aware of our sinful nature and knows there will be times that we fall short of loving God and loving our neighbor. It’s for this reason that God gives us the gift of Word and Sacrament. In the times we aren’t up to Christ’s challenge, we are right to trust in the promises sealed to God’s people in Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We must trust that Christ died to forgive all of our sins – both before and after Christ entered our lives. The fact that our sin is forgiven doesn’t give us a license to sin without consequence but provides recourse to a restored relationship with the Father when sin inevitably creeps into our lives.

       The culmination of trials, transformation, and trust is triumph! If we rest in the promises of God, then we are His. John 10: 28-30 provides this assurance: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[a]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one.” This is good news indeed! When the trials of life leave you searching for answers, remember that perseverance produces transformation in the depths of our heart. Given that complete transformation will not occur on this side of Heaven, our shortcomings lead us to acknowledge the finished work of Christ on the cross. Resting on this work leads us to the ultimate victory – eternity with Christ in the new Heavens and the new Earth.

              It is my sincere hope that these brief points will be helpful to you in your walk with Christ. The most important takeaway is that each of the “4 T’s” ultimately point us to Christ and the sacrifice he made on our behalf. Because of this, we are equipped to handle whatever life throws at us – and it ‘s been a lot here in 2020.

In Christ,

Kendal May

Approaching Faith in the Workplace

              Hey, everyone! I hope everything is slowly getting back to normal wherever you are. Here in Tennessee, most restrictions have been eliminated in my county. It’s been great to go out to eat and just bask in this narrow glimmer of normalcy. Even though we are far from defeating this virus, it’s good to experience some joys that make this life wonderful. Oh, and baseball is back (if only for 60 games)! Summer can officially commence!

              One of the unintended benefits of this pandemic is that it has afforded many of us the time to sit back and evaluate the world in which we live. Given that we spend 40+ hours at work each week, it is natural for our mind to astutely evaluate our workplace environments.  Over the past couple of days, I have been thinking about how our Christian faith and our role in the workplace intersect. I’m guessing that most of you, like me, work in a corporate, secular setting. However, what I am about to share also applies in a Church or other type of Christian setting. Without a doubt, faith in the workplace is a touchy subject. Ask a hundred people about this relationship and you’ll likely get a hundred different answers. My answer is that faith can thrive and even grow within the workplace. So now the million-dollar question – how do we make this happen?

              The simple answer is that we must exist in the workplace as the people God intended us to be – shortcomings and all. For those of us that work in a secular setting, we are unable to plaster Scripture verses all over our cube or jump up on a table in the lunch room and deliver a revival-esque sermon with the zeal and force of a prize fighter looking to land a knockout blow. There are much more subtle and effective ways to reveal the love of Christ to all we encounter in our workplace.

              First, we must be careful not to ram our Christian views down anyone’s throat. This tactic is not only ineffective, it’s also un-biblical. Throughout the course of Jesus’s earthly ministry, He never forces anyone to follow Him.  Does John chapter 6 ring a bell?

It should.

              At the beginning of John 6, Jesus feeds the five thousand. Subsequently, large crowds begin to follow Him in anticipation of future miracles.  Jesus then delivers the Bread of Life discourse in which He makes some statements that send shockwaves through the crowd. As a result, many in the crowd walk away from Jesus. Does Jesus force them to turn around and return to Him?

Nope.

              In fact, Jesus asks His most trusted disciples if they want to leave too. Par for the course, Peter speaks up and none of the disciples desert Christ. I saw all this to reiterate the notion that we can’t force faith in Christ on anyone. Moreover, it’s impossible to force faith on someone as faith is divinely initiated from above. Trust the Holy Spirit to do its work and don’t overstep your boundaries – especially in the workplace.

              So then, how do we operate more gracefully to make the love of Christ evident? At work, this is most apparent in our day to day behavior and demeanor. For those of us who already know the power of Christ, this manifests itself in the fruits of the spirit. For those unaware of the nine fruits of the Spirit, they are as follows:

·       Love

·       Joy

·       Peace

·       Patience

·       Kindness

·       Goodness

·       Faithfulness

·       Gentleness

·       Self-Control

Commit these to memory!

       How do we react in the workplace when something goes wrong? Do we exhibit patience, kindness, and self-control or do we blow up and create additional problems? As Christians, we must act differently than those who do not possess the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit. We must act in such a way that non-believers say to themselves, “There’s just something different about those Christians”. Doing so may even lead to others approaching you to talk about your faith. They may become genuinely curious about the sense of peace you project in your demeanor. Always be open to these conversations! By just listening intently when these conversations present themselves, others may be crying out and declaring their need for a Savior – even if they don’t realize it at the time. Actions certainly speak louder than words.

       Furthermore, in the workplace, we must have the attitude that we exist to serve rather than to be served.  No one in history exemplified this attitude more than Jesus Christ, Himself. Jesus didn’t come to serve kings and the religious elite of His time. He spent most of His time serving those who were poor, downtrodden, or just plain ol’ down on their luck. The woman at the well and the blind man who had his sight restored are great examples of how Jesus displayed a servant nature. Likewise, we must position ourselves as servants within the workplace. We must be a servant not only to our boss or our boss’s boss, but also to those who may be lower on the food chain than we are. This week, try prioritizing requests from others on your team over your own interests and see how your mindset transforms. Having a team-oriented mindset is often infectious and builds rapport.

       What do we do when we make mistakes at work? We all make mistakes – it’s part of who we are. It’s a key consequence of being dead in sin via the fall. I’d argue that if you never make mistakes or fail, you may be lacking an innovative mindset. Accountants, such as myself, are often among the worst at challenging our tried and true methods. The SALY (same as last year) approach is a hallmark of accounting practice. When mistakes are made, the first step is to own your mistake. Never pass blame – the buck for your work stops with you, especially if you are in a leadership position. Be willing to accept responsibility for failure even if it leads to blowback in the short-term. Holding yourself accountable when you make mistakes will almost certainly earn more respect in the long-term. Learn from your mistake and resolve to never let it happen again.

       What happens when you receive blame for something at work that truly wasn’t your fault? Occasionally, this will happen. It’s never fun, but sometimes is a reality. In these cases, it is best not to argue your case as it will only lead to further issues. Be willing to ‘take one for the team’ every now and then. This will earn the respect of your peers. Once again, this is a biblical principle and we look to Jesus for the ultimate example. Although Jesus was blameless and without sin, He willingly took up the Cross to secure salvation for all mankind who should place their trust in Him.  Of course, our petty issues at work are miniscule compared to Christ’s ultimate sacrifice. However, it illustrates the servant mindset we must have when dealing with others.

       I hope you’ve found some of these tips to be helpful. Now I want to hear from you! What are some ways in which you exude the love of Christ to others in the workplace? Please comment below.

In Christ,

Kendal May

Blessed Assurance

            Hello, everyone! It’s been a little while since I’ve filled up this space. I hope you all are staying safe and enjoying a slower time during this COVID-19 pandemic. I’m grateful that I’ve been able to enjoy significant quality time with those around me, including a scenic hike to Machine Falls in Tullahoma, TN. Here in Tennessee, the restrictions are beginning to ease up quite a bit. I ate in a restaurant for the first time in months last Friday! I’d never been so glad to see Mexican food.

              If you know me, you know I love to discuss and debate theology. One of the questions I am asked time and time again is in regard to the eternal security of the believer.  More simply put, once a Christian is “saved”, can they ever become “unsaved”? Said another way, once a Christian places faith in Christ, do they have assurance that they will persevere to Salvation? It’s a question that has splintered Protestantism almost from the beginning and is a doctrine worthy of intense study.

              The doctrine of the eternal security of the believer gained popularity in Calvin’s Geneva and through other like-minded reformers of the 16^th century. The doctrine, however, took a dramatic turn within the American context during the period of revival that is known as the Great Awakening.  So, what changed you ask?

              The biggest difference between the confessionally Reformed thought strain and the Great Awakening thinking prevalent in modern Evangelicalism today is on whom the focus of assurance lies. For Calvin and those in his vein, the focus of assurance is external, or God-focused. That is, God brings His people to final perseverance through the ordinary means of Grace – Word and Sacrament.

              The purpose of this post is not to examine the doctrine of double predestination, most often associated with Calvin today. However, to properly discuss how the modern Evangelical version of the assurance of Salvation came about, we must articulate at a basic level what the double predestination entails. At its most basic, un-nuanced level, double predestination asserts that God predetermined before the beginning of time who would be saved and who would be damned to Hell based on nothing but His own desires. The doctrine essentially denies that man has any semblance of free will. Those considered the “elect” are predestined for Heaven, while the “reprobate” are destined for damnation regardless of anything they do. Again, I’m not discussing my opinion on this doctrine here (Although, I’d be happy to have this conversation with any one of you one-on-one!).

              As the notion of the eternal security of the “elect” spread from continental Europe to the British Isles and eventually America, Christians began to try to determine if they were among the “elect” who would be destined for Heaven.  Unfortunately, instead of resting on God’s means of Grace in the Word and Sacraments, believers began to look inward for signs of election.  Revivalist preachers in the Great Awakening such as John Wesley and George Whitefield began to emphasize instances of personal conversion as evidence that a believer was a “true” believer and would have eternal life. Other preachers used verses such as Matthew 7:17 to indicate that a believer could know if they were saved or not based upon the fruit their life yielded. Matthew 7:17 reads as follows: “Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.” Eventually, this line of thinking led to the development of things like the “Sinner’s Prayer” and the “Romans Road”, through which one was thought to have invited Christ into the very depths of their heart. Subsequently, salvation was secured for that believer at the time the prayer was prayed.

              Dramatic conversion experiences and producing good fruit are good things, right? So, what is flawed with this line of thinking?

              Conversion experiences are undeniably wonderful and are to be cherished and celebrated. I cherish my own conversion story and love to recount it any chance I get (Let me tell you about it sometime!). I love to hear the conversion stories of others in which they speak of the faithfulness of God in their lives.  In fact, I’d love to hear more conversion stories than I’m hearing right now. I want to hear stories about how the love of God has opened eyes and changed lives forever. Nonetheless, as Christians, we shouldn’t look to our conversion experience as assurance of our eternal salvation. Doing so opens the door ever so slightly for Satan to create doubt in our minds. More than likely, there will come a time in all of our lives in which we struggle and invariably start to question if our own conversion was legitimate. Was it all just an act? Was it sincere? Did God accept my conversion? This crevice of an opening is all Satan needs in order to wage spiritual warfare against us.

              Similarly, producing good fruit is very important – the Scripture I referenced above commands it, in fact. However, the fruit produced must be an outworking of the Grace which God has so lovingly bestowed upon us. Fruit production should never be used as one criterion in a formula to determine if one is “saved” or not.  Doing so opens the door for a de facto works-based salvation – the very doctrine the Reformers fought so hard to dispense with.  It also creates internal strife and hand wringing. For the fruit checkers, no matter how much good fruit is produced, they can never know if it is enough in the eyes of God. Scripture doesn’t give us a threshold for good works to be performed. Is 1 good work a day enough? 5? 10? 20? (spoiler alert – no amount good works is ever enough to earn the salvific Grace of God!) You get the point – using the production of good fruit to prove one is saved only leads to frustration and more uncertainty. Leave the fruit checking to the farmers, this is a battle that can never be won.

              Fortunately for us as Christians, this frustration is unnecessary and can be easily avoided. All that we need to do is to look outward to God for signs of His promises rather than looking inward to evaluate ourselves based upon our own merits. In His Holy Word and the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, God has given us real, objective means of Grace to seal us in His promises. None of these three things require an ounce of subjective guesswork on our part.  When we read the Scriptures, get Baptized, or partake of His body and precious blood, we have objective evidence that we are abiding in Him. Next time you feel yourself struggling with your faith, look away from yourself and towards the promises of God sealed to us in the ordinary means of Grace.

In Christ,

Kendal May

Grace and Peace

Peace, fleeting as can be,

Like the cotton candy remnant of a beautiful summer day.

Listlessly drifting to and fro amidst a raging sea,

Peace, there must be a way.

Troublesome, the times appear,

With anxiety and doubt commencing from every direction.

Every corner of the subconscious teeming with fear,

Gasping, in search of perfection.

Pride, the reason for stumble,

Mercilessly trapping God’s people in lies and deceit.

As the walls close in and the world begins to crumble,

Begrudgingly, we admit defeat.

Prostrate, we come before the Lord,

From our torturous anguish and transgressions, we plead to depart.

A relationship so fractured and blemished, how could it ever be restored?

Grace, which He wills to impart.

Grace, free as can be,

Meandering with purpose from God on the mount.

Unmerited favor which allows us to become Holy,

Peace, springs plentiful from this fount.

Easter Liturgies

Easter Liturgy

              As we prepare to enter into this time of worship on Easter Sunday, we joyfully proclaim the resurrection of our Savior. Just as the man in the white robe who encountered the women at the tomb, let us become emboldened to share this Good News with all those whom we meet on our journey.  The void now occupying the tomb has filled the void in our relationship with the Father, turning darkness into light, night into day, and most importantly – death into life. The righteous blood poured out for the whole world on Calvary has perfectly atoned for our transgressions so that we may have everlasting life and become conformed to His most holy image. Let the brilliant splendor of this glorious mystery draw us ever nearer to the God who sent His only son to perish in our place. The tomb has been rolled away - all those living in darkness have now seen a great light.¹

Alleluia! Alleluia!

1. Isaiah 9:2

Easter Liturgy Alternate

              As we prepare to enter into this time of worship on Easter Sunday, let us give thanks and praise to our God for the gift of His only son, our Savior and our Holy Redeemer. By pouring out His blood for us on Calvary, He filled us with the hope of everlasting life, if only we would believe in Him. In descending into Hell, Christ ensured that we are not consigned to that awful fate – but one much greater. Upon rising on the third day, He rebuilt the Temple and fulfilled that which was prophesied long ago. Now, let us share this Good News with all that we meet on our journey. We must declare His glory among the nations and His marvelous works among all the people.¹  For it is His marvelous works and not our own which reconcile us to a right relationship with the Father and conform us to become justified in His sight. For this, we offer a never-ending hymn of praise.

Alleluia! Alleluia!

1. Psalm 96:3

Waiting with Eagerness

                 How quickly we’ve made it to Saturday of Holy Week. Hopefully, the weather where you are is just as beautiful as it is here in Tennessee. It’s been brilliantly clear with highs in the 60’s over the past few days. Hard to argue with that this time of year.

              I’ve really been enjoying all of the writing I’ve been able to do this week, and it is my sincere prayer that my readers are able to glean a little something from each of my posts. I pray that God will give me the wisdom to write the things that people need to hear in the current time. I’ve had quite a few posts this week. If you’ve missed some of them, now is a great time to catch up.

Palm Sunday: Some reflections of Jesus’s entrance into the city of Jerusalem.

https://kendalwordandsacrament.blogspot.com/2020/04/palm-sunday-reflections.html

Life as a Christian: Some thoughts on how my life has changed since reverting to the practice of my Christian faith about three years ago.

https://kendalwordandsacrament.blogspot.com/2020/04/life-as-christian.html

Holy Thursday: The shepherd becomes the lamb so that His sheep may have eternal life.

https://kendalwordandsacrament.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-final-passover-lamb.html

Good Friday: A short poem I wrote about the trek to Calvary.

https://kendalwordandsacrament.blogspot.com/2020/04/good-friday-poem.html

              Good Friday has now come and gone. The once and for all spotless sacrifice has been offered and the veil of the temple torn in two. There is now only one more sleep until we wake up and experience the glorious resurrection of Christ. Even though we’ve experienced Easter Sunday numerous times before, I hope you still long to celebrate like it’s your first Easter as a Christian. This miraculous rising from the dead should never become old and stale but should remain fresh and invigorating.

              So, what do we do now? We wait, of course. We wait for the glorious resurrection of our Lord and Savior.  Holy Saturday is a day filled with eagerness and anticipation of what we know is coming.  We await the chance to proclaim, “Alleluia! Christ, the Lord is risen today”.  I think this waiting is so good for our Christian souls at it exposes the longing we have for our resurrected Savior. It exposes the desire to be filled with hope of eternal life. All of this is great and much needed!

              But do we also remember that Christ will be coming again one day? We profess in the Apostle’s Creed that He will come again on the last day to judge the living and the dead and His kingdom will have no end. Do we anticipate the second coming with the same gusto with which we anticipate the resurrection? Do we live each day in eager anticipation of the day in which Christ will return and establish the New Heavens and the New Earth. If we are being brutally honest, the answer for most of us (myself included) is no. Sure, we know that the second coming will be nothing short of astonishing, but we certainly don’t long for it as much as we’d like to think we do.

              So, I want to issue a challenge to all of us today (again, myself included). I challenge all of us to approach each day with the same anticipation as Holy Saturday when we are looking ahead to Easter Sunday.  Let’s be bold in sharing the message of the Gospel as if everyone’s life depends on it (it does!).  Let’s be confident in proclaiming that we are only wretched sinners saved by Grace alone. Let’s be effusive in our praise for the God that is the author and perfector of our faith. Let us continually be anticipating the day in which we will reign with him forever and ever.  For it is the resurrection of Easter Sunday which affords us the chance to one day rule with Him upon His glorious return.

In Christ,

Kendal May

Good Friday Poem

Though He was found guilty of nary a crime;

He was ordered to Calvary; indeed, it was His time.

Mocked, beaten, and crowned with a thorn;

He took up a cross that was rugged and worn.

As He made His way to the hill; he passed the women crying;

For they knew this was the Son of Man who would be dying.

Though He received help from Simon of Cyrene;

The mood that day was anything but serene.

Time after time on the journey He fell;

Each weary step inching us further from Hell.

The soldiers drove nails through His hands and His feet;

Every thud bringing Satan closer to defeat.

As He hung on the cross between two of the worst;

To fulfill the prophesy, He stated “I thirst”.

As the day faded into the darkness of night;

His purple robe would soon become white.

To ensure He was dead, the Romans pierced His side;

It was abundantly clear; this was the man about whom so much was prophesied.

But His work that day can never be diminished;

Before bowing His head, He said “It is finished”.

(Additional for Easter)

Fortunately for us, the story doesn’t end there;

Our relationship with the Father, He sought to repair.

For us, he paid the ultimate price;

Becoming the once and for all spotless sacrifice.

On the third day the women found the entrance to the tomb rolled away;

Jesus had risen, turning night back into day.

Death is defeated, the veil has been torn;

For our Salvation, our sins He has borne.

His resurrection may not end all our strife;

But His finished work brings the hope of eternal life.